How fast is your Internet connection, really? Your Internet service provider quotes you speeds, but how do you know if you’re actually getting the speed you’re paying for? You can find out using one of these free tools. And, if you’re not, there are some things you can do to increase your Internet connection speedUnderstanding Your Internet SpeedUnderstanding Your Internet SpeedSo you're paying for a certain internet speed but what does that speed actually mean? How fast is it? And why does it seem so slow at times?Read More.

You can’t measure your connection speed based on how fast it seems during normal use, as websites won’t necessarily make use of your full download speeds. These tools will make use of all the bandwidth your connection has available, ensuring you a fairly accurate measurement.

The Speedtest Broadband Speed Test

Before using Speedtest, ensure no other programs are using your connection. For example, if you have a BitTorrent client or another file-downloading program running, you should pause your downloads. This doesn’t just apply to your computer – if you have other computers sharing an Internet connection, ensure they’re not actively using your connection either. This will help you get a more accurate picture of just how fast your connection is.

Open the Speedtest page and click the Begin Test button to get started. Speedtest will automatically choose a nearby server and try downloading and uploading a file. It measures the speed when doing these transfers, and the speeds you see should be fairly representative of your Internet connection’s speeds.

JD’s Auto Speed Tester

Speedtest is useful, but it only gives you a snapshot of your Internet connection speed at one point in time. It doesn’t tell you how consistent your connection speed is or whether it regularly fluctuates at certain times of the day. To monitor your Internet connection speed over time, download JD’s Auto Speed Tester.

JD’s Auto Speed Tester will perform regular Internet connection speed tests in the background, providing you with a record of your broadband speeds. You can see a graph of your Internet connection speeds over time, allowing you to see just how consistent your Internet connection speeds are.

This program is quite powerful. It allows you to set up emails – you can get email alerts10 Great ifttt Recipes To Automate Your Web Life10 Great ifttt Recipes To Automate Your Web LifeWe’ve already introduced you to ifttt in a previous post and there have been several improvements made and new channels added to the web application since then. Automation and synchronization are two points that have...Read More when your Internet connection speed drops to a certain level or receive regular updates on your Internet connection speed. You can also have it not perform tests when certain programs (such as file-downloading programs) are open.

Even if you prefer to run Internet connection speed tests manually and not on a schedule, this program can be useful. It will save each test results and provide a graph, while Speedtest won’t remember any previous results for you.

What If You’re Not Receiving the Speed You Were Promised?

If you’ve run these tests and found that you’re not receiving the speeds your Internet service provider promised, you’re probably wondering what you can do to increase your connection speed.

However, in many cases this won’t work out to your benefit. You’ll probably have an actual speed that’s a bit lower than the speed you were promised. If you look up your service plan details, you’ll probably see a footnote saying that your ISP can’t promise you an exact speed.

On the other hand, wide variations can indicate a problem. For example, if you were promised 25 Mbps and you’re receiving 23 Mbps, that’s within the margin of error. However, if your plan offers 25 Mbps and you’re consistently receiving 8 Mbps, this can indicate a problem. Internet service providers can make mistakes – I once upgraded to an Internet service plan with higher speeds. After upgrading, I ran a speed test program and noted that my speed hadn’t gone up. After a quick phone callMake Free Phone Calls Over Wi-Fi/Data Using Talkatone [Android & iOS]Make Free Phone Calls Over Wi-Fi/Data Using Talkatone [Android & iOS]In the future, your phone will only need a data connection. Paying for voice minutes and text messages will be an outdated concept and you’ll be able to communicate entirely over Wi-Fi. Google already offers...Read More to my ISP, they realized that they hadn’t actually flipped the switch and given me the higher speeds I was paying for. This fixed the problem, and it’s possible no one would have noticed if I hadn’t tested my Internet connection speeds.

Tips for Improving Your Speed

Before you go calling your Internet service provider and asking them to check your speeds, ensure you run multiple tests at different times – a single test isn’t enough to indicate a consistent problem. You should also ensure that no one else on your network is using your Internet connection, as you’ll see slower speeds in the tests if something else is maxing out your Internet connection.

im with primus canada they were ok for about 4 years now i get this http://www.speedtest.net/my-result/5629294184 and i was wondering if there is anyway i can get them in $hit for this.
its been going on since the start of june and before that i was getting around 4mbps when they advertise up to 7mbps and now i get less then 1/2 a mbps and they sad its the technology in my area yet it was fine for 3 and a 1/2 year before hand they took a whole $10 off my bill and pretty much said suck it up or turn it off <---- lol my words but that's what they implied

The people who are not getting speed, I have 8mbps plan of airtel and I'm getting only upto 1mbps because, The Internet service providers shows their plans in Mega-Bits while any device uses in Mega-Bytes.(1 Mega-Bit = 8 Mega-Byte). If you have more high speed Internet like 15 mbps you should have upto 1875 Kilo-Bytes per second. If you download using your wifi broadband in play store it will give you upto 2 MBPS. My speed also increased in Play store and UC browser mini.

Im paying for a 5mb connection but am getting less than 60 kbps dl speeds? Ive tested at multiple times throughout the day and when nobody else is online along with plugging in via ethernet. Anybody know of anyway to fix this?

Hi i have a 6 meg unlimited plan that i have tested to be at 4.9 meg what can i expect on a 15 or 25 meg plan ? I wonder if running better lines ie: shortest possable /better quality line from where the phone service enters the house to the modem would help ?

If you are not getting what your paying for, you can always file a complaint with the FCC (https://consumercomplaints.fcc.gov/hc/en-us). It does light a fire under most ISP's as they don't like the feds snooping in their business.

I also stopped paying mine until they got the issue resolved. I now have a 50mbps connection that often gets 100mbps.

My parents live in a rural area, where there is only one internet provider. They have a basic 5 Mbps connection, or I should say they pay for one. In recent months, internet speeds have dropped off dramatically. A speed test shows they now get less than 1.5 Mbps. Often, streaming video is next to impossible, and even basic text websites can be a hassle to load. The ISP has sent people out, who have said all the equipment is working correctly, but they claim that it won't get any faster until the ISP "upgrades" its equipment at some unknown future date. I'm curious about how the speed has gone down just because they haven't updated anything. Is there anything that can be done? I think the company is flat out lying.

I have 2 x desktop computers in my home, we have TalkTalk Fibre Broadband.
One computer id measuring 32+ Mbps the other around 10 Mbps. This is consistent using Wi-Fi or Ethernet cables. The computers are the same and the same distance from the router & Modem.

Dear Sir,
I have 2 different ISP, one is of 50Mbps & other one is 50mbps, so may total BW = 100mbps
I am providing leased line to my clients.
My question is that, can i provide a BW of 60mbps to a single client? Also teach me the loadbalancing in this case.

I have been using JDs program this week and it is showing amazing speeds compared to the tests I run on Speedtest.net. The upload speeds are always comparable but the download speeds really differ.
For instance I just tested with both
JDs say 5.21 mbps and Speedtest says 1.06 mbps
Why do you think there is such a difference. They were taken within seconds of each other.
Thanks

Good question. It's possible Speedtest.net doesn't have any server close to you but JD's does. This is very dependent on the program's servers -- if they're too slow, far away, or just bogged down, you'll see lower speeds. The servers must be faster at downloading and uploading than you are, or the speeds you'll see will be limited by the servers, not your own internet connection.

I know Speedtest has a server in a city fairly close to me. It is a mystery why they differ so. And who do I trust? The higher or lower reading?
I notice it really varies in JDs comparison chart. It can be anywhere from 3.5 mbps to 19 mbps. I guess the idea of the comparison is to see an average over time.
Thanks Chris.

Oh, so they've throttled you because you used a lot of bandwidth (or what they see as a lot). That's too bad, but there's not much you can do about that unless you switch to a different ISP or different plan.

Kaashif Haja

November 10, 2012 at 3:28 pm

I Have to change my ISP.

si pribble

November 6, 2012 at 11:13 pm

If you happen to be using Frontier fiber they will tell you 75% of advertised speed is "good enough". The answer to the obvious question -- Can I pay 75% of my bill -- is negative. Yes I left Frontier.

Thanks JDs program is great.
And you said that Speed check does not record your tests...yes they do.
After testing click on Compare Your results. It shows how you compare with
the world and if you scroll down it shows your recent tests for comparisons.

I have a poor connection as 4 Mbits.. That's a normal speed you can afford to pay here at my place... But anyway, I get most of the time 3,7-4,0 Mbits of speed! But what I don't get is, that sometimes during the evening, the internet is very slow, but the speedtest shows a speed at 4 Mbits..

Good article! I'm on Linux and I wanna know if there is a way to know if my neighbors are using my connection and if possible what they're doing ( .i.e check the network activity). What's the best software for that.

Yup, log into your router's web interface (you'll find instructions in its manual) and you can see this sort of thing. You should also really encrypt your connection with a password while you're at it!

i have got a very strange problem. i have got a plan which promises me higher speeds at night after 10pm. but for the past 3 4 months I have not been able to get this speeds. the day time is normal as promised. And then at night the speed drops to horrible levels! It is not even the normal day time speed. I contacted the ISP and they said there is problem at their side and that they have made the plan changes correctly. I am not understanding what to do :(

Yea i have had a lot of trouble with false positive Trojan detections , but if people let me know what AV programs are detecting it i can do something about it. As of a couple of days ago VirusTotal was only showing 1 detection and that company i can not contact.

The problem with speed testing is that for instance, if you are on ADSL or especially ADSL2, distance to exchange (not as the crows fly, but actual cable length) and age of copper cable play a really big factor.

The speed that your ISP quotes you is SYNC speed, so for instance, my internet connection ADSL1 is 8Mb Dn/384Kb Up.

My router syncs at that speed, but it isn't what i would truly get, overhead accounts for a small amount, line quality, etc... all play a part in it too.

Not to mention congestion at the exchange level.

Besides just running a speed test, if the speedtest shows a significant drop, and your router isn't syncing at the speed of your account, then you need to have every thing in between looked at too.

Nice post, but there are many factors that influence the speed..server location and peerings are the most important in my opinion.
Also the isp providers sometimes has their own speed test page... where you can get very good results but that doesn't apply for the whole world.
Anyway using the internet just for servers in my country i get 30/50 mbps download and somewhere around 20 mbps upload
For the rest of the world using speedtest.net somewhere around 8 mbps for a good price i think. just 14 euros
@ Garey Boone i've done a basic speed test with the recommended page here's what i've got http://mcs.ispgeeks.net/myspeed/db/report?id=964491

Yea i have had a lot of trouble with false positive Trojan detections , but if people let me know what AV programs are detecting it i can do something about it. As of a couple of days ago VirusTotal was only showing 1 detection and that company i can not contact.

Well, you can improve some things, like your Wi-Fi speed, but generally this is out of your control.

if your ISP is giving you 20 Mbps down, there's not really much you can do to get more than 20 Mbps. You can try moving closer to a data center or buying a higher speed tier, but this sort of thing is out of your control.

Another case where it might make sense to call up your ISP is when a variety of tests yeild speeds that are consistently below a slower tier. For example, say you're paying an extra $20/month to go from a 30 megabit tier to a 60 megabit tier, but you can't get anything faster than 30 megabits, you may want to quesiton your ISP as to what exactly you're paying the extra $20 for.

I had this same issue today. When I plug my laptop directly into my cable modem I get 60mbps but only 20 using my wireless router. In the "fine print" it says 60mbps with one computer connected to the modem. Well I don't want that for 2 reasons. 1, I can't use any of my wireless devices and 2, I want to be behind some type of firewall or Natted IP address. I'm using a cheap router, like a Netgear N300 but I have a real Cisco router I'm going to try with.

Good article I use speedtest.net pretty regular which is great for finding the capacity of your isp plan that you are paying for.For finding out my actual speed and what nots I go to http://www.ispgeeks.com/wild/ they have a plethora of tools.To get the best result I suggest signing up for a free account that way you have access to more on their website.